Category Archives: Current Events

Large Telecoms Strangle Municipal Broadband, But FCC Intervention May Provide Relief

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Greenlight provides Internet-only service ranging from 40 Mbps for $39.95 per month to 1 Gbps for $104.95 per month. There are also package bundles available that add TV and phone service.

And wouldn’t you know it; that finally got the big telecoms to respond. However, the response wasn’t to build out infrastructure in Wilson or compete on price; it was to kill municipal broadband efforts altogether in NC, citing unfair competition. In early 2011, House Bill 129 was introduced, which seriously hampered the ability of cities to create brand new broadband Internet networks, and put in place new restrictions to limit the pricing competitiveness of existing services versus private alternatives.

via Large Telecoms Strangle Municipal Broadband, But FCC Intervention May Provide Relief.

Inside Obama’s ambitious plan to make your Internet suck less

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“The impact of these laws is that a community that moves forward opens itself up to years of litigation as courts will have to figure out what such poorly conceived laws mean,” Mitchell added. “So the danger isn’t so much the cost of additional dollars but the exposure to years of court room wrangling.”

Here is a map showing all the states with anti-municipal broadband laws Obama wants the FCC to go after, along with brief descriptions of the restrictions in place in each state.

via Inside Obama’s ambitious plan to make your Internet suck less.

Obama wants to help make your Internet faster and cheaper. This is his plan.

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Frustrated over the number of Internet providers that are available to you? If so, you’re like many who are limited to just a handful of broadband companies. But now President Obama wants to change that, arguing that choice and competition are lacking in the U.S. broadband market. On Wednesday, Obama will unveil a series of measures aimed at making high-speed Web connections cheaper and more widely available to millions of Americans. The announcement will focus chiefly on efforts by cities to build their own alternatives to major Internet providers such as Comcast, Verizon or AT&T — a public option for Internet access, you could say.

via Obama wants to help make your Internet faster and cheaper. This is his plan. – The Washington Post.

U.S.: No alternate leads in Sony hack

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Norse’s senior vice president of market development said that just the quickness of the FBI’s conclusion that North Korea was responsible was a red flag.

“When the FBI made the announcement so soon after the initial hack was unveiled, everyone in the [cyber] intelligence community kind of raised their eyebrows at it, because it’s really hard to pin this on anyone within days of the attack,” Kurt Stammberger said in an interview as his company briefed FBI investigators Monday afternoon.

via U.S.: No alternate leads in Sony hack – Tal Kopan – POLITICO.

From:  The FBI’s North Korea evidence is nonsense 

The reason it’s nonsense is that the hacker underground shares code. They share everything: tools, techniques, exploits, owned-systems, botnets, and infrastructure. Different groups even share members. It is implausible that North Korea would develop it’s own malware from scratch.

Above article dated 12/19/2014.  It appears the FBI may be doubling down on their theories to save face.  Their conclusions got POTUS to make a speech about this and if it turns out it was all nonsense that makes him look bad too.

As a fan of author Tom Clancy’s early works I found this quote funny.  From: Researcher: Sony Hack Was Likely an Inside Job by a Woman Named “Lena”

This sounds much more plausible to me than a crack North Korean cyber-commando squad, or whichever Tom Clancy wet dream has been floating between the White House and the New York Times.

Clues In Sony Hack Point To Insiders

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Researchers from the security firm Norse allege that their investigation of the hack of Sony has uncovered evidence that leads, decisively, away from North Korea as the source of the attack. Instead, the company alleges that a group of six individuals is behind the hack, at least one a former Sony Pictures Entertainment employee who worked in a technical role and had extensive knowledge of the company’s network and operations.

via A New Script: Clues In Sony Hack Point To Insiders | The Security Ledger.

The Evidence That North Korea Hacked Sony Is Flimsy

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Attribution Is Difficult If Not Impossible

First off, we have to say that attribution in breaches is difficult. Assertions about who is behind any attack should be treated with a hefty dose of skepticism. Skilled hackers use proxy machines and false IP addresses to cover their tracks or plant false clues inside their malware to throw investigators off their trail. When hackers are identified and apprehended, it’s generally because they’ve made mistakes or because a cohort got arrested and turned informant.

Nation-state attacks often can be distinguished by their level of sophistication and modus operandi, but attribution is no less difficult. It’s easy for attackers to plant false flags that point to North Korea or another nation as the culprit.

via The Evidence That North Korea Hacked Sony Is Flimsy | WIRED.

A list of previous Sony Hacks here.

Sony Hackers ‘Completely Owned This Company’

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“It’s really a phenomenally awesome hack—they completely owned this company,” Schneier, who is regularly consulted by the federal government on security issues, said. “But, I think this is just a regular hack. All the talk, it’s hyperbole and a joke. They’re [threatening violence] because it’s fun for them—why the hell not? They’re doing it because they actually hit Sony, because they’re acting like they’re 12, they’re doing it for the lulz, no one knows why.”

via Bruce Schneier: Sony Hackers ‘Completely Owned This Company’ | Motherboard.

Unless you know how infiltrators got into Sony’s system there is no way figuring out the who behind the hack.  So far details of this has been lacking and as far as potential culprits targeting Sony, North Korea is probably least capable from an education standpoint and logistics.  Social engineering, getting people inside Sony to cooperate is usually behind successful infiltrations.  Sony’s Playstation network was taken down awhile ago.  I suspect whoever did that probably is behind this despite what movie is about to be released soon.

Philae comet lander sends more data before losing power

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The little probe delivered everything expected from it, just as its failing battery dropped it into standby mode.

Philae is pressed up against a cliff. Deep shadows mean it cannot now get enough light on to its solar panels to recharge its systems.

via BBC News – Philae comet lander sends more data before losing power.

“Philae could come back later as we move closer to the sun, and we get more light onto the solar panels up against the cliff we’re at here in the shadows.”

Space probe lands on comet in historic mission

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The three-legged lander had to be released at exactly the right time and speed because it could not be controlled on its descent. On its way down, Philae gathered data and images, which were relayed back to Earth.

Engineers designed the lander not knowing what type of terrain they would find on the comet’s surface. Rosetta has been taking pictures of the comet and collecting samples from its atmosphere as it approaches the sun, showing it is not as smooth as initially hoped, making landing more tricky.

via Space probe lands on comet in historic mission – Chicago Tribune.

From: Philae landing preview: What to expect on landing day

Philae’s legs are designed to damp out the forces of a hard landing to reduce the lander’s chance of bouncing. When Philae touches down, it will fire two harpoons to attach it firmly to the comet’s surface. A thruster on top of the lander fires at the same time as the harpoons, keeping the lander on the ground. Ice screws also deploy from the three lander feet.

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UPDATE: From Rosetta mission: Philae craft may have bounced during comet landing – as it happened

Philae may have landed not once but twice – that’s the final message from Esa this evening.

According to Stephan Ulamec, Philae Lander Manager, DLR, the lander team believe that Philae may have bounced from the surface and settled again in a slightly different place.